Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep (Re-Uploaded!)
by TreasureNaros
Summary: 15-year-old Ven has it all; wonderful parents, great friends, an annoying older sister, and dreams of becoming a famous skateboarder. However, everything changes when he becomes a Keyblade bearer and mysterious creatures begin to slowly inhabit his world. Left with few options, Ven leaves home where he not only learns of Kingdom Hearts, but his fate as well.
1. Destined for Something

**_Acknowledgement:_**_** This was not my year. I lost ALL of my Birth by Sleep chapters. Even my back up files were a mess that nothing came out clear. Luckily, I found a file in my laptop called "Emergency Back-up in Case Sh*t Happens" and there it was! I was a happy camper, the only misfortune is that I had to type out almost everything and it took me (as you all can see) a long** **time.**_  
_**To be honest, I was gonna call it quits and just forget about everything and quit fanfic writing because of this incident but then I thought of my readers. My supporters. So for my former readers, here is the re-upload of KH:BbS and please continue to support me (I'm very grateful). I promise new chapters will be on the way. As for new readers, help yourself and I hope you enjoy. Review if you get the chance too!  
Toodles!**_

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Chapter I  
Destined For Something

My eyes had opened to a semi-dark room facing the ceiling. I was drenched in sweat, but I felt very cold. Cold as ice. My whole body was numb and I couldn't move. Why was that? I tried to move my arms several times with no success and my legs felt like they were twisted in something. I was freezing! Then-  
BANG! A loud noise caused me to shoot up from bed. I found what was around my legs: my blankets. Ignoring it, I turned my head to my door and saw the knob twist. I quickly fixed myself, forced myself down onto the bed and placed the blankets over me. There I saw a head poke in. It had long hair and shiny blue eyes. Its sighing gave me a hint that it was a girl looking at me. "Good," I heard her say. "He didn't wake up." She closed the door quietly and I heard her footsteps decrease.  
When I sensed she was gone, I sat up and looked at my hands. "That dream..." was all I could say. "What was that dream?" I swung my legs over the side of my bed and stretched. I opened my bedroom door and walked down the stairs to see that girl was a young woman and she looked as if she was attacked by birds. I knew who it was. It was my sister. The woman talking to her was my mother.

"Oh look who's up," she said. "Honey, are you OK?" I nodded. It was still a little dark but I could make out the scenery from the window of the house; a large hundred year old tree with several flowers attached to it, an empty street, a few houses that remained asleep, and two cars parked across from each other. Oh...the sun began rising too. My sister, Nazareth, approached me rubbing the back of her head. "Sorry I woke you," she said.  
"You didn't," was my response. "I woke up on my own." Nazareth placed her hands on her hip and gave a sigh. "That's a relief." she said. "I placed your clothes on the chair. Get ready and be down by seven."  
I arched an eyebrow and wondered why Nazareth was being nice. Being nice wasn't in Nazareth's dictionary, she was pretty mean and bossy. She was the complete opposite from Mother. Nazareth had all of Mother's features; long blond hair in one-sided pony-tail, shiny blue eyes and a beautiful smile, but had the attitude of a preppy school girl. I grabbed my clothes and walked upstairs looking back at her. Upon opening the bathroom I saw a note on the sink address to me. I picked it up and read it. It said;

_Mother and Father promised me a new car if I were nice to you  
and your friend so don't go off and mess this up for me!  
If you do, I'll destroy your skateboard, got it?  
~Nazareth_

I smirked and held onto the note for personal reasons. As I fixed myself up I saw my hands tremble. "They're cold..." I told myself as I placed them under warm water, yet it made them even colder. I gave up and continued my daily routine. By the time I finished, it was already seven fifteen. I walked downstairs to see Mother cooking quietly. Nazareth was sitting at the table, twirling her long hair and giving an unseen glare at me. I walked over to her and whispered; "I got it." then went into the kitchen and kissed Mother on the cheek.  
"You look a lot better than you did earlier sweetie," she said. "You looked as if you were frozen, are you fine now?"  
"Yes ma'am," I answered, giving a small smile. "Where's Dad?" Mother shrugged her shoulders, and nudged her head to the closet door near the hallway. I winked at her and tip-toed to the closet door and swung it opened just to see that it was empty. Just then, I felt myself get swung up and saw the world around me upside down. I couldn't believe it! Mother betrayed me! Father's laugh boomed through my ears and he was not at all bothered by how much I have grown.

Father was a tall man with brown hair and brown eyes. He was muscular than me. He ranged from six foot four to six foot seven. I wish I could be as tall as him for he was a very nice but intimidating looking man. Unfortunately, Nazareth has his traits and has grown to be taller than me. I am taller than Mother by a few inches but that is all. "Ah, it's been so many years since I've last done this," he said triumphantly "but it seems that you haven't grown at all."  
"Are you kidding?" I laughed. "I've grown into a warrior, Dad."  
"You don't feel like a warrior," he remarked. "You feel like a child. Remember when you were younger and I use to do this to you? You enjoyed it so much, but time changes and-kiddo are you alright?"  
"Blood...going to my brain..." I strained out. "Pressure...building up...let me down please." Father laughed and gave a nod. He loosened his grip on my stomach and I flipped on the floor. "You alright?" he asked. I nodded. "So much better now." I answered.  
"Come now," Mother said. "Breakfast is ready." Father and I walked over to the table where Nazareth and Mother sat. When we sat down, Mother stood right back up. "Wait," she quietly said. I watched as she walked over to the door facing the diner room, opened it then shifted the small table in the living room into a ramp, and turned a chair facing the table to the door. She then rushed back to her chair, sat down, and began drinking from her cup. A few minutes later, I heard the sound of fast wheels and in burst a boy my age on a skateboard. "Alex's in the lead with extraordinary speed," he narrated as he skated to the ramp-made table and flew into the air. "He air guitars the skateboard," he continued as he strummed his arm on the board several times and tossed it on the couch. "Will he nail his landing on the chair?" he asked the audience, which was my family. He turned over on his back and slammed into the chair. Throwing his arms up in the air victorious he shouted; "And he nails it!"

Mother clapped and Father shook his head while chuckling. Nazareth was not pleased. "Tell me my scores," Alex said turning around on the chair.  
"Ten." Mother said.  
"Ten." Father said.  
"Ten!" I whooped out.  
"Zero." Nazareth said nonchalant.  
"Kill joy," Alex pouted out. He and I pounced our fists and sat down for breakfast. Alex didn't care about Nazareth's opinion on how his skateboarding was, all he cared about was Mother. For the past three years, he would always get a seven or eight from her and he knew she wasn't impressed. But he was finally successful. After so many failed attempts, he was successful. Alex was a skinny but well-built boy, with red hair and green eyes. He always wore goggles above his head and wore fingered gloves. They were his good luck charms. Or so he thought.

"Good morning Alex," Mother said. "How are you?"  
"Excellent!" Alex said. "But I'm also starving. Can you believe that I was dared to go a whole day without eating?"  
"Yes," Father said. "You never turn a dare down. Just remember, if the dares too dangerous, back down. I know you are not one to back down from dares, but for your own safety, turn it down."  
"Yes sir," Alex saluted as he reached for his plate and wolfed food down in front of us. Nazareth sat there in disgust. "I can't believe Mother allows you to do such a thing," she said "it's disgusting!"  
Alex only laughed and swallowed a whole cup of juice before covering his mouth to burp. "That was good!" he cried out in joy. "Man, I wish my mother could cook like this." I laughed. "Last time I checked," I said, "your mother was a top chef at the restaurant three blocks from where you live."  
"You think your mother and mine are twins?" Alex asked. "They are the best cooks in the world, no one can cook up a storm and serve it as good as them!"  
"Don't you two have to go to school?" Nazareth asked.  
"Don't you have to go to work?" Alex asked. Nazareth gave a slight hiss at Alex as she stood up and made a face. "I'll have you know that I will be getting a new car from Mother and Father," she informed him. "It will be ten times better than the car I bought." Alex only scoffed. "You can drive?" he asked her.  
"I drop you both off at school every day you late bums!" Nazareth snapped. But the deal she made with Mother and Father changed her back to normal. She dropped the subject and went upstairs to get her things.

An hour later, Nazareth picked up her keys and approached us. "I'm leaving for work," she said. "Are you coming?" I stopped what I was doing and thought about it. "Yeah," I answered and tapped Alex, who was napping on the couch. "C'mon Al," I told him, "we're leaving." Alex rolled off the couch and stood straight up. "Let's go," he said. We grabbed our skateboards and were almost out of the house when my mother called out to me. "Oh, honey," she said. I stopped but Alex rushed out of the door. "Come here a sec." she motioned her hands towards me. I walked over to her. "Yes Mom?" I asked. "Come, come," she said as she took my hand and took me to the back of the room. She let go of my hand and began to search and search for something from shelf to shelf. When she found it, she took hold of it and hugged it close to her chest.  
"I've had this for a long time," she said, "but I never opened it." Full of curiosity, I looked over her shoulder but she whirled around to show me a small box with a silver bow. She handed it to me and urged me to open it. "But isn't this yours?" I asked her. Mother smiled and nodded. "Your grandfather gave it to me," she explained. "But I knew it was not meant for me. Deep down, I wanted to open it and peek inside of it, yet I never did." I wondered why but never asked.  
"Your grandfather says that his father never opened it either because he wasn't meant to have it," she continued. "He gave it to me because he said that _he_ wasn't meant to have it either. Yet, when I looked at it and held it in my hands, I knew it wasn't for me. I believe it was meant for you."

I looked at the box and carefully opened it. When the ribbon was off, and the box remained, I lifted it up to see an X-shaped necklace in there. The necklace was silver and had an imprint of a crown in the middle of the X. I looked at it as if it were a mere jewelry, but Mother looked at it as if it were treasure. "So many years I wondered what was inside of that box," she said, "and now I see what it is." She took the necklace out of the box and placed it around me. I examined the necklace and smiled at it. "It looks perfect on you." she complimented. She calmed down and quietly placed my hands in hers.  
"Ven," she said, "no matter what anyone says, you are destined for something."  
I looked at the necklace once more and grinned. "Thanks Mom." I said as I hugged her. "I won't ever take it off."  
With that being said, Mother whisked me off to the door and wished me a good day.


	2. Luck

Chapter II  
Luck

As I walked out of the door with my skateboard, I saw Alex leaning on the stoned railing stairs. "Took you long enough!" he said as he stood upward and approached me. "What were you doing?" I shrugged. "Nothing important," was my answer. Alex nodded his head and headed down the stairs. "Nazareth isn't going to wait any longer," he informed me. "She's already impatient as is."  
I followed Alex and got in the car. There, I saw Nazareth, who was sitting in the driver's seat, putting on her make-up. Alex sat across from me and nudged at my arm. "And she talks about us being late for where we need to go," he whispered.

"Don't think I didn't hear that, Alex," Nazareth said as she finished putting lip-gloss on and sort of puckered them together. When finished, she turned around and told Alex what she told me. Only it was verbal. "Listen and listen good," she said, "the only reason why I'm being nice to you, is because our parents promised me a new car. If you or Ven ruin this for me, you guys can forget about your school's skateboarding team, got it?" Alex nodded. "Got it, Maleficent." was all he said.  
While Nazareth drove, I watched the town. A lot of people walked around from store to store, house to house, and job to job. There is a track that was built in an oval-like directional way with a squiggly road too. A trolley rides the track, but it always ends at the town square. However, from the stories Alex and I hear, people say that if you fall asleep on the trolley, it takes you to a world you never thought was real. As do the legends of the forest outside of my town imply of a haunted mansion.  
Alex and I always race through the forest and stop at the gate of the mansion. Many say that beyond the gate, within the mansion, a little girl is said to be heard crying. The only way you can hear her is if you cross over the gate and walk around the mansion three times. Both Alex and I were curious if the story of the Crying Girl were true. But we never had time to do try this theory out.

As I watched the town, I started playing with my new gift around my neck. Mother had said I was destined for something, but what did she mean by that? My dreams of being a famous skateboarder are in the palm of my hands and soon I'll be recognized by my skill as a talented skateboarder. Little kids will be looking up to me and would probably want to try to be like me as well. Is that what I am destined for? Is this necklace a good luck charm? It has to be, it just has to be.  
"What's that?" Alex asked curiously.  
I looked at him then my necklace. "It's nothing," I told him. I tried to put it away but Alex leaned in forward and examined it carefully. "Nothing?" he asked. "This is nothing." He tugged at his goggles. "But I make it something. So what's the nothing you're wearing around your neck? I've never seen it before."

"I just got it," I answered. "My mom gave it to me. She said that I was destined for something before letting me go to school."  
"Must be a good luck charm," he laughed as he continued to examine it. "It doesn't look like it's from here," he added. "I don't ever recall seeing a necklace like that in stores anywhere around this town, where'd you mom get it from?" I shrugged. "I dunno," was my response. "She never told me. All I know is that my great-grandfather gave it my grandfather and my grandfather gave it to my mother and-"  
"Now she's given it to you." Alex cut me off and finished my sentence as he sat back in his seat. "If I had to guess," he began while stretching, "your mother's side of the family had that necklace for the longest which is why it's never been seen or made. I bet someone from hundreds of years ago gave it to your mother's generation and it's been passed down to the one who deserves it the most. And that person was you."

At this, Nazareth laughed. "That's ridiculous," she said. "It's just a stupid necklace worth a fortune. If what you say is true, _I _should have gotten the necklace. It would look great with my features." Alex laughed. "Yeah right," he said to her. "Maybe your mom didn't give it to you because you didn't deserve it."  
"It's a necklace," Nazareth said, turning around. "It's a piece of jewelry that Mother had for over forty years. It's nothing compared to necklaces girls would kill to have."  
"Well Ven's not a girl," Alex said. "He's a boy and I must say, that necklace looks handsome on 'im."  
"Are you kidding?" Nazareth scoffed "Because he owns a forty-year old necklace, he's special?"

"Didn't say that," Alex smirked. "Ven's already special. He just doesn't know it." I looked at Alex and gave him an innocent punch in the shoulder. "Quit it," I told him "everyone's special in his or her own way." Alex laughed again. "Not like you, Ven." he said. "You're very different from other kids at school, y'know? Yeah, everyone's talented and special in their own ways, but in the end, the talents that are seen...are just the same. But not for you, Ven, not for you."  
Alex looked as though he was getting emotional. Yet, he was laughing and joking as if what he said was another joke. I only stared for a brief moment before Alex started screaming. I immediately looked forward and started screaming too. "Nazareth! Car!" I shouted. She turned back around, screamed and forced the wheel to turn left. The car came to a screeching halt.

The other car only honked at us. For a moment, we said nothing.  
Then, Alex started laughing. I stared at him as if he were crazy. He pointed to my hand, which was on my chest covering the necklace, and tapped his goggles. "Luck," he laughed out. "Luck was on our side."  
I looked at my necklace then at Nazareth sitting at the wheel laughing her head off. "Whoo!" she shouted. "Am I a good driver or what?"  
I couldn't believe it. But, I started laughing too. Alex thought it was luck, Nazareth thought it was her driving skills. As for me, I didn't think anything because at the end of it all, no one was hurt.


	3. Mystery Girl

Chapter III  
Mystery Girl

When we got to school, Alex and I were fooling around in the hallway pulling off stunts, and running from bathroom to bathroom, and sitting atop the lockers. By the time we got to our tutorials, we were laughing and complimenting each other. "Yo, you the man," Alex said.  
"No, you the man," I said.  
"We're the men!" Alex whooped out. "You rock, Ven."  
"No, you rock, Al." I said.  
"We both rock!" He said aloud.  
"You're both late," the teacher interrupted, putting out our fire. Her name was Ms. Starsky and she was a fair lady. She had dark colored hair, as if she dyed it long time ago, dark eyes, and dressed funny. She was creative with her get-up and no one could tell her any different about what she wore. Her personality varied on certain days and what she wore. When it rained, she was happy because she loved the rain. When it was cold, she looked even more happier than days it rained. Whenever it was sunny or flowers bloomed, we'd never see her until the afternoon because she is usually found sleeping on the grass outside guarded by the flowers.

It was rare you saw her upset, however, she was strict at points. She didn't tolerate tardy kids and she certainly didn't tolerate airplanes, daydreamers or sleepers. If you're caught sleeping, your only option is to run to the exit which is the door. I have doubt you will make it, though. Ms. Starsky is a dark shadow that pulls you back into her realm of torture and forces you to write on the board whatever it is she wants you to write on the board. To make matters worse, she makes you do it in front of the whole class.  
Not only was it humiliating to the students who have suffered this punishment, it was also sad. There was a boy in my class who had a hard time spelling. In fact, he couldn't spell at all and we knew of that. Unfortunately, he was caught sleeping in class. Unlike the others who tried the escape method and failed, he sat there with a blank face as Ms. Starsky stood over him with a look of impatience. The boy walked over to the board and was told to write out "I am a daydreaming sleeper" three times in front of the class. We all watched in suspense to see what he would do and to our broken hearts, he spelled out everything wrong. Dropping the chalk, he started crying and tried to run, but Ms. Starsky grabbed him and stood him up.  
"Haven't you humiliated me enough?" he yelled at her.

Ms. Starsky pushed him in front of the board and made all of us help him out. Whenever he spelled something wrong, one of us went up there and helped him. It took us weeks to get the boy to spell things out correctly and he was successful at the end of the year. It was a sight to see his improvement, but it was a sad thing to experience. But, nobody's perfect and it was two years ago so it really doesn't matter that much. All anyone needs to know is if Ms. Starsky's a great teacher. The answer is, to me, definitely.  
"You two are always late," she informed us. "Give me two good reasons why I shouldn't call your parents about this? Again?"  
"Because you love us," Alex answered.  
"And we bring joy to your class," I added.

Ms. Starsky tilted her head, but it wasn't a nod. Just a tilt. She placed her hands on the table and tapped her foot which meant she was thinking. "All right," she said. "I've made up my mind. I'll give you two one more chance." Alex and I were close to high-fiving each other but Ms. Starsky placed her ruler in the middle. "If you two are late again," she warned, "I will not report your tardiness to your parents, I will force you to clean this whole school, including the lockers. Understand?"  
"Yes ma'am," we said, yet we knew she didn't mean it. There was nothing to clean in the building but the library and bathrooms. I couldn't see what else there was to clean. I'm not going to try and figure that out.

Ms. Starsky's class was enjoyably long and when it was over, some classmates were upset. Before we left to go to our next class, Ms. Starsky informed us of a trip we were going on in about two weeks and we were all excited. I was only hoping that we would go somewhere that wasn't close to school...or home. While Alex and I went to our class, I started playing with my necklace. _Why did Mother feel like she was unworthy to wear this? _I thought, _It's just a necklace...right?_ When I said those words, I felt a sharp pain in my chest, as if something was torn out. "Ah!" I cried gripping my chest. Alex looked at me concerned and laughed. "What's wrong buddy?" he asked.  
"N-nothing..." I said quietly as I placed my hands at the back of my head. "I was thinking of something." Alex only shrugged and proceeded to walk ahead of me. While thinking to myself, I bumped into a bully. My heart stopped instantly.  
His name was Dilan. He was a tall senior guy who found it amusing when someone smaller than him was intimidated by him. I was shorter than him by a foot and some inches and to be honest, I never really thought I'd ever run into him. For years, I avoided being a victim of a bully. I never got in any of their ways and only heard of them (there's quite a few in this building) while growing up and going to the same school nearly all my life. Well now I'm standing a few inches in front of a bully and my skin turned pale. I actually felt pale and weak. "You're that skateboarder, aren't you?" he asked me. I opened my mouth but nothing came out, so I only shook my head.

He hovered over me as I tried to find strength in my legs to pass him. "My parents were upset that I didn't get into the Skateboarding Club," he told me, "and I know it was you I was replaced by. I was meant to have that spot and you went off and took it away from me." I shook my head in denial. "It wasn't me!" I wanted to say, but nothing came out. Dilan only laughed and patted me on my back extremely hard. "You're lucky you're on my good side today." he said to me and walked away.  
When he was actually gone, my knees gave way and I fell to the floor, dropping everything in my hands. "That was pretty scary," I said to myself. Alex nearly slipped over my stuff as he tried to run towards me. "Ven I heard that Dilan-guy was tryin' to pick on ya," he said as he helped me pick up my things.  
"No, he didn't." I replied. "He only scared me a little."  
"You sure?" he asked.  
"I'm sure."

Alex forced me up from the ground since my legs couldn't do their job on their own. "Well," he told me, "if he ever bothers you again, you make sure you let me know, okay?" I gave a small nod and proceeded to follow Alex to class. But as I walked, I noticed that I was missing a book. It was a small book with stickers of skateboards and famous skateboarders that I had for a long period of time. I turned around and saw it lying on the floor. I reached for it, but a small and gentle hand had picked it up before I did and placed it in my hand. "Here," the gentle hand's voice said. It was a girl's voice, yet it was much softer than ones I hear almost every day. I whirled around fast enough to see where the girl was going.  
She was heading to my next class. All I could see was what she was wearing: a light blue dress with yellow flowers, white sandaled shoes, and a white bow. I watched as she walked into the class extremely fast and quietly, not paying any mind to any of the other boys or girls that were entering the class as well.  
It was strange...I never saw her before.

Could she be new?


	4. Got it Memorized?

Chapter IV  
Got It Memorized?

While in class, which was quiet and boring, I searched for the white bow-haired girl. She wasn't anywhere to be seen, but I saw her walk in here. She just had to be in here. I felt like giving up and told myself that what I saw was probably fake. I must've picked up my own book, saw a girl walk by me and I imagined her wearing a light blue dress with yellow-there she was, sitting in the back of the classroom, looking out the window, occupied in her own little world.  
I was curious to what she was thinking about and I watched quietly as she doodled in a book without looking at it. For the first time ever, I felt something warm in my heart, but it was also painful. Why did it hurt? And why was I feeling this way? The vibration from my phone destroyed my train of thought. Opening it, I saw it was another message. This message said;

**From: Alex**  
**Message: focused on sumthing more important than class.**

Embarrassed I texted back;

**It's nothing like that! And if you're gonna send me a message, learn how 2 spell correctly!**

**From: Alex**  
**Message: Says the boy using the #2 for the word 'to'**

**Shut up!**

**From: Alex**  
**Message: Who are you looking at?**

**What?**

**From: Alex**  
**Message: Are you looking at that girl?**

**No! OF COURSE NOT!**

**From: Alex**  
**Message: Sure you're not :-}**

**Quit it, Al.**

**From: Alex**  
**Message: You are as red as a tomato. What are you embarrassed about?**  
**It's that girl, isn't it? Tell me.**

**NO! Quit texting me!**

**From: Alex**  
**Message: It IS that girl! I knew it! You like her don't you?**

**NO! :-(**  
**I don't even know her.**

**From: Alex**  
**Message: Don't hafta know t'like.**

Our silent messages ended when a nosy kid in our class, Demy, spotted Alex's phone and blurted out; "Oooooooooooo, Alex has his phone out!" I heard a hiss come from Alex's mouth as tried to put his phone away as quick as he could, but was caught by the teacher who announced to the class that she received a new phone and was curious to what was inside of it. Opening one of the text messages, she read aloud one where Alex told me of the day he slipped over a soap in his bathroom and hit the toilet seat. The whole class laughed, at least, I thought they did. The girl by the window didn't seem interested in the text. Alex wasn't at all embarrassed by what the teacher did. In fact, he laughed at his own message. "I like that story," he told her.  
"Oh do you, Mr. Alex?" she asked. "The next time I catch you with your phone out, I might read a text you **_won't_** like, understand?"  
"Yes ma'am," he saluted as he received his phone back and watch as the teacher walk back to the front of the room. When she was fully distracted by her teachings, I saw Alex reach for Demy, yank him forward, and whisper into his left ear. Then he threw Demy back into his seat, with a grin. For the rest of the period, Demy stayed shut.

Demy wasn't as bad as those may think he is, he was just a nosy tattle-tale. I never got around to why he was called a bad kid, I've always wanted to. Demy was around my height, maybe an inch or two taller than me, with dirty blonde hair and I'm assuming bluish-green eyes. Never saw them up close so I wouldn't know. He was a scrawny kid and a punch from a bully would instantly knock him out, so he always knows how to avoid fights with people and he also knows how to get out of situations. He is a strange character because he has this unusual habit of talking and kidding around with Alex and I. We don't mind, but we have no clue on why he does this. Every day he sits with us at lunch and talks to us nonstop until the period was over. Mind you, lunch is an hour and forty minutes on certain days, an hour on regular days and it's weird that he always has something to talk about for an hour. I barely have a paragraph to say, I only have questions and answers.  
Since he has a love for music and guitars, he loves showing off his guitar skills during lunch or after school, and I must say, he plays well. As I've said before, Alex and I don't mind Demy, but we both are curious as to why, out of everyone else, he chose to talk to and play silly pranks on us. It puzzles me.

By the end of the period, Alex walked with me to my locker to kill time in the hallway. I put in my combinations and shifted the lock in a downward position, but it didn't work, so I tugged on it harder and I got nothing. I placed my numbers in again while saying them in a low but slow tone and I still got nothing. It wouldn't open so I kicked at the stupid lock. "It never wants to open for me!" I shouted in aggravation as I started yanking at the annoying thing. Alex slightly pushed me to the side and examined my lock. "You're never gonna get it opened like that," he said, chuckling. "If you really wanna get it opened, ya gotta do this."  
Alex put in my numbers on the lock slowly and carefully so that I could watch then as quick as ever, he ripped the lock off. I stood there blank in the face, amazed. "How'd you do that?" I asked. He shrugged, chuckling a bit. "I came up with this method five years ago," was his response. "I can show you how to pull it off if you like."  
"That was not a pull I saw, Al," I informed him, "you ripped it off the locker and the thing's not even scratched." Alex laughed and placed the lock on the locker and showed me his little ripping method again. "I'm only showing it to you one more time," he said, "so pay close attention." He put in my numbers very slowly and carefully then, once he heard the click noise, he ripped the lock off again. "Ta-dah!" he waved the lock around his finger, proudly before handing it to me. "That's cool," I said, "that's really cool."

Alex smirked and scratched the back of his head. "It's all in the timing," he told me, "once you hear the _click!_ you're good to go buddy." He patted me on my back and I opened my locker and got my things. The lock was once again placed on my locker. I looked at it and carefully memorized Alex's method. "What are you doing?" Alex asked, as he watched several kids go by. "Memorizing your method." I answered. I locked it away in my brain five minutes later.  
"Got it memorized?" Alex asked me.  
"Yeeup," I answered and we headed for our next period, which was lunch. As we walked up the stairs, Alex began to do his little mini rant. It's where he talks about a certain subject and never shuts up about it. This mini rant was about the phrase or quote he said by my locker. "I love that phrase," he said to me. I looked at him arching an eyebrow. "What phrase?" I asked.  
"'Got it memorized?'" he replied. "I love that phrase!"  
"I thought it was a quote," I said.  
"Phrase or quote, I love it either way." he laughed and started repeating "Got it memorized?" over and over and over and over and over and-

"Alex!" I cried. "I got it memorized, all right!"  
Alex was quiet with a grin and I thought his "Got it memorized?" marathon was over. That is, until we got in line for lunch with our trays. Demy, who was all the way in the front of the line, saw us and ran all the way to the back of the line where Alex and I stood.  
"Hey guys!" he exclaimed. "Where've y'all been?" Alex shook his head and scolded at him quietly. "You almost got my phone taken away!" he snarled.  
"I was only playing around," Demy laughed, poking at me. I wasn't bothered by it.  
Demy began to tell us a story about how he went shopping for a new guitar after breaking his old one and couldn't find the one he wanted. His story was cut short when he asked what was on the menu. "Hmm," Alex said, "Pizza, cheeseburger, fries, milkshakes, juices, sodas, fruits, and steak." I turned to see the redhead grinning as he turned to Demy and asked him a simple question; "Got it memorized?"  
In an emotionless way, I began to slam my face into the tray as both Alex and Demy laughed.


	5. A Cafeteria Nightmare

Chapter V  
A Cafeteria Nightmare

Alex, Demy, and I walked over to our table and saw a familiar face sitting there, reading a book. "Well, if it isn't Isa the Bookworm," Alex laughed as he dropped his tray on the table. "We haven't seen you all day. Where've ya been?" Isa didn't look up from his book all he did was start lunch period on the right foot with his simple answer; "I had a doctor's appointment and I didn't know it would take until lunch for it to end." Demy and I sat down across from Alex and Isa and began talking. Alex tried to bring up the subject that I had a crush on that mysterious girl in class earlier, but I gave him a threatening look of 'Don't you dare!' and he kept shut. Just then, Isa looked up from his book, placed it down, looked at us, and told us some shocking news. "You did WHAT!" Alex and I shouted in unison. Demy, who was confused, watched as Isa gripped the two of our shirts and slammed us back down in our seats. "Be quiet!" he said. "You want everyone else to know?" Alex and I laughed quietly and found that what Isa did today before he came to school was amazing! The only reason I say this is because Isa is not the one who would try out a theory on his own and talk about it. Alex and I quietly chuckled as we moved in forward towards Isa and request that he repeat what he said. "I went to the mansion today."

"What for?" asked Alex.  
"What mansion?" asked Demy. Alex, Isa, and I sat at the table, looking at Demy quietly. "What?" he wanted to know. "What's wrong?" I looked at Isa, who looked at Alex, who looked at me. Then Isa and I looked at Alex and allowed him to question Demy. Clearing his throat, Alex began to mess with Demy.  
"Demy," he said calmly, "how long have you been living in this little ol' town of ours?" Demy stared at Alex blankly. "About three years," he answered.  
"And during those three years, Demy, you never heard of the mansion outside of town?"  
"No..."  
"What about the Crying Girl?"  
"Who?"  
"The Crying Girl."  
"Why's she called that?" Alex gave a slight grin I recognized from years ago. He was going to lie. "C'mon, Demy," he continued. "Everyone's heard the story of how she got her name." "Everyone but me..." Demy pouted. "Tell me the story! I wanna hear it!" "No, I can't do that," Alex replied, "it'll frighten you."  
"Al," Demy said "I am fifteen years old. I think I can take a little ghost story." "If you say so." Alex chuckled and began.

_"A long time ago, there was a rich family who lived in the forest outside of town. Within the family, there was a butler, a maid, a husband and wife, and their two sons and only daughter. Unlike everyone in the household, their daughter always wore white and stayed upstairs playing by herself because she was ill. It was rare that people saw her in town with the family because of her illness, her family loved her as well as the butler and maid and did everything they could to try and make her feel better. But so long as she was sick, nothing could console her."  
_"Hold on a sec!" Demy interrupted, "What makes this story scary, huh? It's about a girl in white who's sick. So what?"  
"I'm gettin' there!" Alex snarled. "Hold your guitar strings for the moment! Now where was I?"  
"But so long as she was sick, nothing could console her." I reiterated. "Oh yeah," Alex said. "Thanks bud."

I only nodded and motioned him to continue his story.

_"One day, a doctor came to the family's home and told the parents that he had a cure for the girl's illness and he'd give it to them free of charge. The parents, wanting their little girl to be normal and well, gladly accepted. So for the past few weeks, the girl was given medication and was quickly recovering. She felt the change and danced around in her room, in front of her parents, and with her brothers because she was getting better and felt better too._ _That is...until her parents noticed something wrong. The girl was appearing to change into this ugly looking creature, and couldn't bare tell her that. The doctor was nowhere to be found and left them hanging to deal with this problem. But they couldn't. So in the dead of night while the girl slept, the parents packed up their things and two boys, along with the maid and butler, and left. The girl woke up to her family gone and cried. No one knows where her family had gone, some say she turned into that monster they feared and had eaten them. Others say they were forced by the doctor to abandon her. But anyway, the girl cried herself to death and vowed revenge against the man who stole her family away from her._ _So now, once a year, in broad daylight, the girl leaves her home and snatches up anyone who reminded her of that doctor who ruined her life."_

Demy blinked a few times. "That's not scary at all!" he declared.  
"It will be," Alex snickered. "Wanna know what the guy looks like?"  
"Sure," Demy said.  
"The doctor has green eyes and dirty blonde hair," Alex began. "He's about Ven's height, probably taller by an inch or two and has a habit of talking a lot and picking at stickers on his clipboard or while quietly listening to people's situations or stories."  
"It sounds like you're describing me..." Demy said. Alex grinned a little and kept quiet for the moment. "What?" Demy wanted to know. "What's wrong?" Isa shook his head. "_You_ resemble the doctor who ruined the girl's life." he informed Demy. "Meaning _you're_ the girl's next victim." Demy gasped. "You're lying!" he said. "It's just a story, right Ven?"  
"I dunno, Demy," was my response, "many people who looked like the doctor are usually never seen again. The Crying Girl takes them away."  
"A-and d-d-does w-what...?" Demy stammered.  
"_She EATS THEM_!" Alex popped out from behind Demy, screaming those words in his ears. "AAAAAAHHHHH!" Demy screamed as he bolted out of the cafeteria, with everyone looking at him. His screams could still be heard throughout the hallway. I turned to see Alex on the ground laughing his head off, while holding his side.

Demy didn't want to come back to the cafeteria, but because we had a whole hour left, he was forced to come back. He sat down next to me and glared at Alex. "I hate your guts..." he told him. Alex started laughing again. Isa cleared his throat and I remembered that he had told us that he went to the mansion today. "Isa," I said "did you try out that theory at the mansion?" "Yes," Isa said. "I did."  
"How'd it go?" Alex asked. "Did you hear her cries?" Isa nodded. "You don't have to walk around the house three times like they say do," he told us. "You just have to stand there and listen. Her cries become a bit louder if you stand still and listen to them."  
"Is that so?" Alex asked. "We should go to the mansion and tell her to show herself."  
"Sounds like a great idea." said Isa, "If only we had a camera and a crew."  
"We'll be the crew, dunce."  
"I'm not allowed out of the house at night," Isa said. "My mom says it's dangerous to go out at night."  
"Oh..." Alex murmured. "Well can't you change your schedule a bit?"  
"Nope."  
"Then we'll go to the mansion in the morning."  
"You'll still be sleeping."  
"Err! There's always a catch!" Alex furiously ran his hands through his hair. "Why is there always a catch?"

"We can try and figure it out." I suggested, but I doubt there is an answer to his question. Suddenly, this cold air blew by me and I began freezing up again. "Hey," I shivered out, "is anybody else here cold?" Alex, Demy, and Isa shook their heads no. But from the look on their faces, I could tell there was something wrong. I felt like there was something wrong with me. "Yo, Ven," Alex said. "You're as cold as ice...what did you eat?"  
"I didn't eat anything..." I answered, trying to keep myself warm with no success. "I didn't touch anything either..."  
"You feel like an AC, Ven," Isa said. "And I'm not even next to you. Wanna go to the nurse?"  
"You tell me..." I kept trying to increase my body heat, but I only got colder and colder. Then, I saw that place...from my dream. It looked so real and felt real too. It was a desert with all of these blades impaled into the ground. The air was warm, but I was cold. The wind blew, but I couldn't feel it. It was strange.  
Where was I?

I grew stiff and couldn't move a muscle. "Ven?" I heard Isa say. He was sitting across from me but he sound like he was miles away. "Ven, what's wrong?" I heard Demy ask. The cafeteria and my friends vanished. The only thing I could see was the deserted field. My friends' voices drifted off and I could barely hear them. I thought I was having a nightmare! I was lost, alone, and scared for it was only a few moments ago I was in the cafeteria with my friends and other fellow students. Now they were all gone and I felt like the only man on Earth. I wanted to go home and tried to convince myself so many times that I was still in the cafeteria. But then, I became light-headed and began falling backwards.  
"Ven!" I heard a voice cry out. It wasn't Alex nor was it Isa. Its tone was feminine. I felt like a useless object that hit the ground extremely hard and was on the verge of breaking. This wasn't a dream...it was real. It had to be real. "Ven!" the voice cried out to me again. I saw who it was. It was a woman with blue hair and blue eyes. I've seen her in my dreams so many times but I don't know her. I feel like I do, but then again, she was just another stranger. She held me in her arms and looked at me with deep concern. "Ven!" she cried. "No, Ven! Stay with me! Stay with me, Ven!" With the remaining strength I thought I had left in my body, I managed to whisper out; "Who...are you...?"


	6. The Tickle Torture

Chapter VI  
The Tickle Torture

"Hey, is he gonna wake up?"  
"Soon."  
"How long is soon?"  
"Until he recovers."  
"From a fall like that? I doubt anyone would recover from hitting their head on the floor that hard."  
"Well, he has to wake up! We have to go home!"  
"I already tried to wake him up several times, nothing worked."  
"Maybe this will."  
"What are you-"  
"Shh!"  
I didn't feel cold anymore from when I was in the cafeteria, but one side of my face felt hot. Extremely hot. I regained a little bit of energy to open my eyes and return my head to see a lighter two inches from my face. "AL!" I shouted as I fell out of the bed and hit the ground. "Oww..." I groaned.  
"It worked," Alex told Isa as he put the lighter back into his pocket. "First I nearly freeze to death and now you try to set me on fire?" I yelled at the redhead. "Looks that way," Alex said. "Isa threw water on you and that didn't work. Demy strummed his guitar louder than ever and that didn't work either. So I used my lighter. Had you not woken up, my spikey-haired friend, you would've been on fire."

"You crazy redheaded pyro!" I hissed, but nonetheless, I was happy to be awake and mobile. "What happened?" I asked.  
"That's what we wanna know." Alex said. "One minute you were fine, the next minute you freeze up and keel over. You gave us one mighty scare, Ven." "Yeah!" Demy said, "You gave us one big mighty scare, Ven. You were out for the rest of the school day."  
"Oh, that's perfect!" I cried out. "All of my homework for my classes were due today..."  
"Don't worry 'bout that," Alex said. "Isa, Demy, and I turned them in." I gave a weak smile. "Thanks guys," I said, scratching the back of my head. "I guess I'll go get my homework then."  
"Don't have to," Demy replied. "A girl wrote them down for you and gave it to us."  
"What girl?" I asked.  
"Your crush," Alex grinned.  
"I don't have a crush on her!" I protested.  
"Ven likes someone?" Isa asked.  
"NO!" I shouted. "I don't even know her!"  
"Don't have to know to like." Alex laughed. "Oh, the nurse called your parents a few minutes ago," he added, "Your mom said that she was coming to get you."

"But I'm fine," I said. Alex pulled out his phone and handed it to me. "I know how your mother drives when you or Nazareth get hurt in school." he informed me. " You better call her now." Taking his phone, I quickly dialed Mother's number and sorted the situation out with her. But because she was already parked in front of the school and out of the car, she insisted that we get in the care. Alex was the first to get in the car, then it was Isa, Demy sat on the right of Isa, and I sat in the front next to Mother. "Put your seat belts on, boys," she told us and we did so. Mother also insisted that my friends come to our house to do homework, have a snack, and take a nap...it's a lazy afternoon thing Alex and I do, yet Isa barely naps, he always reads a book. As for Demy, this would be his first time coming to over to my house. He was pretty nervous.  
"Umm...I can walk home," Demy said.  
"Don't be ridiculous," Mother replied "the three of you have been in that building two hours after school was out. I insist you stay awhile at this house of ours." Demy's nerves went away and quietly sat in the back. As Mother drove her car, I noticed that something caught her eyes and she stopped the car. Looking out the window on my side, Mother made a face. "What's wrong, Mom?" I asked. Mother shook her head. "I'm not sure..." she said "I thought I saw someone." "Who'd it look like?" Isa asked.  
"Was it a girl?" Alex laughed, giving Demy an evil grin.  
"Not sure." Mother said. Shrugging it off, she added; "It must've been the trees."  
"Or the Crying Girl," Alex suggested in a dark tone then bursted out with laughter. Demy wasn't pleased.

A few hours after we got to our house, Alex, Demy, Isa, and I were sitting in my room playing video games. I, for one, wasn't in the mood for the game. Just then, I was hit in the neck with a small semi-hard, semi-soft object. I snatched my head over to Alex, who was laughing. "Did you just throw a Sour Patch Kid at me?" I asked picking up the candy. "I might have." was his response. Since I knew he wouldn't throw anything at me for no reason, I turned around and faced him. "What is it?" I wanted to know.  
"You didn't tell us why you passed out in school today." Alex told me.  
"Not that it's any of your business." I said.  
"Uh, yeah it is, since we carried your sorry butt to the nurse." Alex said.  
"I don't wanna talk about it, Al," I informed him.  
"Why not?" Demy asked.  
"Because I don't want to," I answered.  
"Why don't you want to?" Isa asked.  
"Because I **_DON'T_**!" I yelled. "So stop asking me!"  
For a moment, my room was silent. I kept to myself and thought about what I said. I was a bit upset that I yelled at the three of them. They were there when I needed them. But how am I suppose to tell them about the dreams I'd been having? I can't even explain what they mean myself! I looked over my shoulder and saw Alex, Demy, and Isa in a huddle talking to one another on the other side of the room. I gave a sigh and played with my necklace. "Maybe you can explain the dreams to me," I whispered to it. "Better yet, you can help me explain the dreams to them...they're over there on the other side of the room in a huddle and-a HUDDLE?"

"GET 'IM!" Alex shouted as I whirled around to see Isa and Demy tackle me to the floor. "Hold him down!" Alex ordered. "Grab his arms! And his legs! Off with his head!"  
"That wasn't apart of the plan," Demy said.  
"I was in the moment." Alex said.  
"What're you guys doing?" I shouted while struggling. "Let me go!"  
"Hold still!" Alex said.  
"For what?" I demanded, I never knew Isa had such a grip. Demy, on the other hand, I felt sorry for him because I kept kicking him. "Get off me!" I shouted again. "Be quiet!" Alex playfully kicked me on my side while reaching for a pillow on my bed.  
"What's going on up there?" my mother called from downstairs. Alex threw the pillow over my face and smothered my screaming while calling back down to her; "Nothing! We're playing a game!"  
"Does it involve that much noise?" she asked.  
"Plently of it!" Alex answered.  
"I can't breathe!" I shouted through the pillow.  
"Okay," Mother said to Alex. "Just don't break anything."  
"Okie-dokie!" he called down to her. He then removed the pillow from my face and I shouted; "YOU'RE CRAZY! Were you trying to kill me?"  
"No," Alex said. "If you don't stop struggling, it'll get to that point."  
"Whaddya want from me?" I asked.  
"We want you to tell us why you passed out in school." Alex said.  
"Why?"  
"Because we're your friends."  
"What if I refuse?"  
"Then you leave us with no choice!" Alex said in a military-like tone. "Isa, Demy," he began his command "Begin the **Tickle Torture**!"

For the next hour, Isa, Demy, and Alex tickled me. And because I was very ticklelous, I couldn't stop laughing. "STOP!" I cried out in laughter. "Stop tickling me!" "Tell us!" they demanded.  
"Never!" I hollered.  
"Keep tickling!" Demy urged. "He's bound to give in!"  
"HELP!" I cried out, "MOM! DAD! ANYBODY!"  
My door bursted open and this sense of a killjoy filled my room. It was Nazareth. The tickling stopped momentarily as she eyed all of us. "What're you losers doing?" she wanted to know. "Tickling Ven," Demy answered. Isa elbowed him in the chest. "They're trying to kill me!" I cried out to her. I couldn't believe I was crying out an S.O.S to her. But her reaction to my pleas were expected. "Have fun," she said as she proceeded to walk out of my room. "You're going to leave me?" I said in disbelief. "Of course!" Nazareth replied. "Mother and I are going shopping. Toodles."  
"You traitor!" I shouted as my friends started tickling me again. "You Benedict Arnold!" I continued to yell out. "You wolf in sheep's clothing! You beast! **_VILLAN_**!"

The Tickle Torture lasted for another hour and I couldn't take it any longer. "All right!" I laughed, "All right! I'll tell! I'll tell!"  
"Finally," Alex said. "You're a reluctant one, Ven. I give you credit."  
"I'll say," Demy replied, "my fingers were starting to hurt." Isa only chuckled. "That was fun." he said. It was amusing, I admit that, but I was still iffy about telling them about the dreams. But unless I wanted to face the Tickle Torture again, I had no choice but to talk.

And so the story of my dream began...


	7. The Burning Flames of Hatred in His Eyes

**_To all whom are just reading this, I would like to introduce to you my ass kicker; A fighting scene!  
Enjoy and review if you get the chance!_**

* * *

Chapter VII  
The Burning Flames of Hatred in His Eyes

In my dream, there was this place, an empty field that resembled a desert only it wasn't as hot as you think it would be. The once smooth ground was now jagged, cracked, and disfigured by so many blades that were pummeled into the ground so hard that the hard wind could only blow the chains at the tip of them. In this field, three knights stood there and appeared to be waiting for someone. They also had blades in their hands. The blades looked like a sword, but they also looked like a key. For the heck of the story, I'll just call them Keyblades.

_Why?_

Because they looked like a key and a blade at the same time! Anyway... The three knights stood in the bladed field waiting for someone.

_How do you know that?_

Hmm...maybe it's because the little knight asked the two taller knights if _he _was going to show up.

_Who's he?_

Okay listen, you three, you all tickled me for a good two hours so that **you **could hear what's been buggin' me. Now would you three please do me a favor and **SHUT UP SO I CAN TELL THE DARN STORY**?

_Yeah, I can do that._

_Me too._

_I'll deal._

Thank you. So anyway-

_Hey, Ven?_

**_What?_** is it, Al?

_Could you tell the story from the beginning? We won't interrupt again._

Do you promise?

_We promise._

Fine. From the beginning...

* * *

In a deserted field, there were over hundreds and thousands blades embedded to the ground. Three knights stood in this field, waiting. The wind blew extremely hard and furiously for a long period of time, then it calmed a bit, however whoever the knights were waiting for never showed. "Is he ever gonna show up?" asked a knight. He was shorter than the other two, wore a type of gold, green, and black shaded armor and appeared to be more jumpy than the other two. "Calm down, Little One," said another knight whose sweet, soft, and gentle voice stopped the hyperactive knight. This knight was a female and wore a blue, black, silver, and grey shaded armor. The third knight, who was taller and more quieter than the two, wore an armor of dark brown, gold and red shaded colors. And, they all wore capes. But unlike the other two, the third knight was as still as a statue and no one heard a breath come from him.

"Is he alive?" asked the small knight.  
"He's fine," answered the female knight.  
"Then why does he look so dead?"  
"He's focusing."  
"On what?"  
"I don't know."  
"Little One you should go home," the knight finally spoke.  
"What? Are you kidding?" asked the small knight as he turned to the man. "I've waited years for this! There's no way I'm backing out now!"  
"Your confidence means nothing," the knight explained. "You may think you have what it takes to be here, but in truth, you're still a child."  
"Err! I am NOT a child!" the young one snapped. "I can take him by myself. It's what I was trained to do! Besides, if it were not for me, you'd be crawling in Darkness by now you ungrateful a-"  
"Hush now." the female knight said as she pulled the small knight towards her. "You won't get through to him that way."  
"So what? He deserves every insult I throw at him." he pouted. As those words flew through the air as the sandy wind did, a dark figure emerged from the sand like mist (whatever you call it). "What's that?" the small knight asked uncrossing his arms.

Soon the dark figure came into their view. You would think at first glance that he was nothing more but an ordinary bald headed feeble old man, with a silver goatee, a black cloak with red lining, black boots, black pants, a long white shirt and gloves, hunched shoulders and his hands behind that crooked back of his, just casually walking by. But to the knights, it was **him**. The man they've been waiting for. "He finally showed up," the knight said aloud to no one in particular. As the old man approached them, with those sharp yellow eyes and evil grin, a copy of himself appeared and walked beside him. The copy then formed into a young man. He also had a Keyblade. He was wearing a red and black organic-like bodysuit and a sliver helmet. But no one could see his face because it was covered with this thick dark glass. I'm assuming he was the Apprentice.

"I got 'em!" said the small one as he prepared to charge them. "Move," said the knight as he gripped the small knight's shoulder and pushed himself forward. "Hey!" the small knight called. He them kicked the ground. "Be careful!" the female knight called.  
Ignoring them, the knight charged the two men in front of him. The old man shifted the ground in front of the knight and he was hit by the rising ground. The old man then raised the ground from below him and his apprentice and created a cliff higher than the one he formed to injure the knight. The Apprentice the jumped from the cliff and attacked the knight by electrocuting him, stunning the knight momentarily but he quickly recovered. "Go!" said to the female knight as she and the small knight began to chase the Apprentice whose master used the other blades on the ground to create this...um...what's that word...what's that word, what's that word, what's that word? Atmospheric wind and pressure system...? Circular wind motion...?

_Cyclone?_

Cyclone! Yes that's it!

The old man made a cyclone that the Apprentice jumped on and rode with ease. "Hey, that guy's not playing fair!" shouted the small knight to the female knight. "In battle, no one plays fair!" the female knight informed the small knight. "Jump!" The two dodged the blast that came from the Apprentice. Meanwhile, the knight quickly charged at the old man, but was seen by the Apprentice and used the cyclone to push him off the cliff. The knight embedded his Keyblade into the cliff as he went down and as a large rock had broken beneath him, he grabbed it and began clinging onto it. "He's too strong," said the small knight, referring to the Apprentice. The female knight grasped her Keyblade she felt the metal through her glove. "Look!" cried the small knight pointing in horror, "Up there! He's going to fall!" The female knight saw the knight holding onto the rock for dear life as he made attempts to pull himself up. "Hurry!" the small knight begged, "Do something!"  
"What?"  
"Anything!" Since they both were panicking they didn't see the cyclone rushing in on them. It struck the female knight just as she was about to put her plan into motion. The impact of the blast obliterated her helmet-

_Damn!_

_Watch your mouth!_

- that only small pieces remained and she hit the ground so hard, it knocked the wind out of her! The small knight rushed over to her to help as she quickly turned and blasted a barrier around the knight quick enough to protect him from the cyclone that crashed into it and pushed him up from where he was at and exploded causing the cyclone to burst into millions of pieces. "Are you alright?" asked the small knight. The female knight, whose blue hair and blue eyes were revealed, was too exhausted and out of breath to answer and it angered the small knight. "You're gonna pay for that!" shouted the small knight as he charged after the first person he saw, the old man. The knight landed on the cliff he was originally knocked off from and immediantly stood up. "I've waited so long for this day to finally come," he told the old man. "Show me what you got." the old man said in a taunting tone. The fight between the knight and old man was brief. The knight swung his keyblade and the old man blocked with his. He then froze the left side of the knight's arm. The old man seemed ammused by the knight's vulnerability. Suddenly the small knight sprang up from above and made an attempt to hit the old man, at the same time, the old man disappeared and reappeared behind the boy and grabbed him by the head. He began to crush the helmet with his bare hand. "Let him go!" ordered the knight as he tried to attack, but a cyclone appeared from under him, as did the Apprentice, who landed on his feet next to the old man, and forced him off the cliff, the keyblades furiously at his armor.

"Now that he's out of the way," said the old man. "Let's finish up here."  
"Let me go!" grunted the small knight. "Let me go or you'll be sorry!"  
"You're a mere child meddling in other people's business," the old man said as he crushed the boy's helmet even more that it started to break. "It's time I dispose of you." Those words sent chills down the boy's spine and scared him. Below, the blue-haired knight looked up at the cliff to see the old man holding the boy by his head. She gasped and cried out; "No!" The boy hearing this, outstretched his hand. "Aqua!" she heard him yell down to her.  
With that, the old man burned the small knight, stunning him, and froze him. He then threw him off the cliff and the armor the boy wore started breaking every time he hit the rock as well as his Keyblade, which was completely destroyed when he smashed into the rock. The blue-haired knight caught the boy from hitting the ground and instead slid. Once they stopped, she sat up and held the boy in her arms. The boy managed to look at her, his eyes pleading for forgiveness for his actions. The old man's keyblade turned into a purple and blue-like flame and he shot it up into the dark clouds that formed around them as they fought. The darks clouds revealed a heart shaped moon. The old man looked as if he accomplished a decade journey or mission as he, the Apprentice, and the blue-haired knight looked up at the sky.

The knight whose armor was now badly beaten, angrily ripped what remained of his helmet off his head and began to breathe heavily. He then looked up at the sky and saw the heart shaped moon beaming down at him. His eyes slowly turned yellow as this darkness began to surround him. Although his eyes matched those of the old man's, they were different in one major way. They were filled with hatred. Looking up at the sky, was man with the burning flames of hatred in his eyes.

_Then, what happened?_

_Yeah, what happened next, Ven?_

I woke up.


	8. A Pretty Name

Chapter VIII  
A Pretty Name

"You woke up?" Alex asked as he plopped back down in his spot on the ground. "Yeah," I answered. "Isn't that what all people do when their dreams are finished or interrupted?"  
"You sound like you could be a great author or narrator in the future," Alex remarked.  
"What makes you say that?"  
"Because anyone who can make up a story from the top of their head and tell it the way you did are destined to become writers or something of that nature."  
"Al, I can't believe you!" I exclaimed in disbelief, "Are you trying to say I made that whole thing up?"  
"Well yeah," Al answered. He wasn't the one to lie to you in front of your face. "C'mon Ven, be serious. A moon shaped like a heart? A deserted field that filled with these _keyblades_? And seriously, Ven, an old man with a crooked back-"  
"And pointy ears," I added.  
"You didn't mention anything about pointed ears..." Demy pointed out, confused. "He had pointed ears, all right?" I quickly said.  
"So the old guy has pointed ears, now?" Alex asked me on the verge of laughing. "Yes," was my answer. I said it with a straight face.

"Still, Ven," Alex said, "an old man with a crooked back and hunched shoulders making cyclones and fighting someone four decades younger than him is highly impossible to me. You should make this into a book."  
"A book?" I shouted. "You really think I'm gonna write a book about this?"  
"Might as well," Alex said. "With a story like that, I'm pretty sure you'll make some mon-"  
"I'm not gonna write anything!"  
"Why not?" Isa finally spoke after a long time of silence.  
"It's personal," I answered.  
"What's so personal about a dream?" Demy wanted to know as he began to strum on his guitar.  
"Everything," I began to explain. "My dream I'd been having is the reason I what Al?"  
"Keeled over-"  
"In the cafeteria. I don't want anyone to know about it. Even if I were to write under an alias or say it was inspired by a lie, it felt so real. I felt like I was there."  
"How so?" Isa asked.  
"Remember the small knight I told you all about?" I asked. Isa, Demy, and Alex nodded. Giving a huge sigh I wanted to blow the whole subject over and leave it be. But, I was only a foot or two away from the Tickle Torturers and fearing I might actually die of laughter, I spoke.

"He looked like me."  
"OH, GET OUT OF HERE!" Alex yelled.  
"BOOOOOOOO!" Demy added as he, Alex, who started the whole mess, even Isa, threw pieces of candy, chips, and paper at me. "Hey!" I shouted, "Knock it off, quit it! Stop!" We were all laughing but the thought of my friends having doubt troubled me. "You expect us to believe that little knight was you?" Alex crowed out in laughter.  
"It's a dream!" I reminded him, "In dreams, I can be whoever I want!"  
"Yeah, but a knight?" Alex laughed. "I could've sworn you wanted to be a skatedboarder not a hero!"  
"Hey, I'm not the one who wanted to have these dreams!" I protested. "They just came into my head suddenly and now they won't go away!"  
"Maybe it's trying to tell you something..." Isa suggested.  
"That's true, but what?" I wanted to know. "What could it be trying to tell me...?"  
"Man, that's for you to figure out, Ven," Alex said. "Because we really don't have a clue. Crap, it's getting late, we gotta go home."

I nodded my head as they proceeded to leave my room. "Wait a sec!" I said. "You three won't tell anyone will you?"  
"Wha?" Demy asked. "Why not?"  
"I don't want the whole town to know about this!" I answered.  
"They won't know," Alex said.  
"You have to promise." I told them. Isa gave a nod and shook his head in agreement. Demy also shook his head in agreement. Alex didn't really give me an answer. He didn't nod his head nor did he say he would promise not to tell. But for some reason, I knew I could trust him. After all, we've been friends since kindergarten.  
Throughout the night, I couldn't sleep and it was getting on my nerves. It wasn't even the bed that bothered me this time! It was the thought of my friends not taking me serious, and promising not to tell anyone of my dream. I was also embarrassed at the fact I passed out in school and worried that my friends might think I'm suffering from a head injury due to the fall. And I also began to feel like I was acting like my sister Nazareth. Anytime something embarrassing or awkward happens to her, she makes the family, including me (who usually misses all the action) promise not to tell the town or anyone that was close to us. To me, I always found it pathetically funny. Nazareth was always the dramatic one out of everyone in the house. I think she gets it from Father. Now that I think of it, what was funny to me came back at me...was this karma? Punishment for laughing at Nazareth? Maybe it runs in the family.

* * *

I'm not sure what time Nazareth and Mother came home or how long I've been asleep. But when I woke up the next day, I was feeling strange. I didn't know why I was feeling the way I did, it probably had something to do with last night. I didn't sleep well at all, I kept turning and it annoyed me like crazy. And when I did get to sleep, I kept hearing things. It was a voice that whispered in my ear and echoed in my head. _"Go and meet her there..."_ it kept saying. It gave me chills throughout the night and I covered my head with my pillow and it stayed over my head the whole night. I didn't know what time it was nor did I check, all I know was that I wasn't tired and the sun wasn't even up. Instead, there was this fog that was outside covering the town. I got out of bed to close the curtains and try to sleep, yet, something caught my eyes. It was a folded paper on the side of my bed. How weird...I didn't hear anyone come in my room last night, and usually everyone in the house places a note on the door so that you won't miss it. I picked up the note and read it.

**_Go and meet her there..._**

That's what it said. "Go and meet her there" and that was all it said. Who did it want me to meet? I knew it was a girl the note was talking about, but who was the girl? And where did it want me to meet her at? And who in the world got in my room and left this note for me to see? I assumed it was Nazareth, she was a strange girl and I had a feeling she was trying to play a trick on me. So I crumbled the paper and threw it away. For some unknown reason, that strange feeling went away when I decided to go out and ride my skateboard around town. The fog didn't bother me at all, in fact, I could see pretty well through it. As I skateboarded through town, I came up with the idea to head to school and practice a few cool stunts for awhile. On the other side of my school is a skating ring that is always used for when we need to practice for a competition on wheels (bikes, skates, and skateboards) and because we were going to use it again soon, I decided that this time, this year, **_I_** will be the one to use it first.

However, when I got to the building and the fog slowly cleared out, I realized that I wasn't the only person at school. A girl was sitting on the steps, drawing in what appeared to be a sketchbook of some sort. She took me by surprise at the fact that she was up so early, but nearly caused me to retreat when I saw who she was. It was her. The girl that I never knew existed. She was busy doodling that she didn't even take notice of me. I gulped a little and felt that warm feeling in my chest again. I picked up my skateboard and worked up the nerve to go talk to her. "Hey there," I said approaching her, "I didn't expect to see anybody here this early in the morning." The girl stopped what she was doing and looked at me. She was beautiful...she had a somewhat dark and somewhat light brown hair that was so unique to me. And her eyes...were magnificent. She was wearing a bow in her hair this time it was light pink and her dress was the same color. Her sandals were the same white ones that I saw before but her dress had light pink and white and they went well together.  
"Umm..." I began. "You couldn't sleep either?" She shook her head no. I scratched the back of my head and cleared my throat. "Are you always here like this?" I asked.  
"Yes." she answered. Her voice was gentle and soft and it mesmerized me. It wasn't an annoying high pitch voice as most girls in my school have and it wasn't a very annoying questioning voice either (a girl in my school always tells a story like she were asking a questioning...very annoying. Alex can't stand her!). Her voice was just...soft and captivating. She only said one word and I wanted her to say something else, so I asked another question. A very simple one. "Why?"

"I live three hours away from here," she answered.  
"Three hours?" I repeated.  
"Why so long?"  
"I have to take a train," she explained. "I don't live around here."  
"That must suck." was my response. "I can't imagine being on a train for three hours. Doesn't it drive you crazy?"  
"No," the girl said. "It's a very peaceful and enjoyable ride."  
"Really?" I asked.  
"Yes. It's pretty quiet and the atmosphere is very nice."  
"I've never been on a train before," I informed her. "I've always wanted to, I guess I'm afraid of getting trainsick."

She smiled at me and I blushed. "Hey, uh, m'name's Ven by the way." I told her.  
"Oh, so you are the boy who fainted in the cafeteria yesterday..." she said with a look of curiosity. My face turned red of embarrassment, I wanted to leave. I can't believe she saw that! Now what do I say to her? "Yeah," I answered, embarrassed. "That...that was me."  
"Are you OK?" she asked.  
"Yeah," I said, scratching the back of my head again. "I'm fine."  
"Your friend told me you were as cold as ice when they took you to the nurse."  
"Which friend?" I asked, though I knew the answer. "The redheaded one." she said. "He was really concerned."

I looked at her quietly and smiled. "That's Al for ya," I said. "He's a keeper." I was quiet for a moment and looked at the fog disperse. "May I sit with you?" I asked. The girl nodded and I took my place right next to her. The sky was so beautiful and looked amazing from my view. It was way better than the view at the skating ring. I don't know how long I was there, or how long I was talking to her, but for the first time in forever, I had actually had something to talk about. And I talked far longer than Demy. The girl seemed interested in everything I had to say, not once did she sketch in her book, in fact, while I was talking, she closed it and placed it on the other side of her and continued to listen to me. I told her the stories from the day Alex and I first met to the day I received my necklace and Nazareth almost hit into another car because she wasn't paying attention to the road.  
By the time I got to telling her stories of what I wanted to grow up to be, I heard the door behind us click open and hundreds of kids approaching the building. I was upset about this and wished I had more time to tell her more things about me. But, school had started, so I had to prepare for another day of education. "Same time tomorrow?" I asked. She giggled. "Of course, Ven." she said and began to walk into the building. I stood there quietly and watched her. That was all I could do was watch her. And that's when I realized I didn't even ask for her name! "Wait!" I cried. "I didn't get your name!" She stopped and turned to me. Giving me one of her beautiful smiles, the noise around us had faded as she replied with that soft voice of hers.

"Naros."

She then turned back around and continued walking to where ever she was heading in the building. "Naros..." I repeated. I've never heard that name before in my life. It sounded kinda funny. But at the same time, it sounded pretty. It was a pretty name. "Ven!" I heard someone from behind me yell, breaking me from the trance I was in. I turned to see Alex approaching me. "Hey Al," I said.  
"Don't 'Hey, Al," me," he said. "Where were you? Your mom said you've been out the house since five in the morning!"  
"It's already nine?" I shouted.  
"Noduh!" Alex shouted back. "Yes it's nine!"  
"Oh man!" I panicked. "I forgot my schoolbag and my-homework?" Alex had my bag in his hand along with the binder I had left on the table. I grinned. "Thanks pal." I said.  
"No problem." he said. "Where were you?"  
"Here," I answered.  
"Doing what? (Pauses) Well I'm assuming you were practicing some tricks at the skating ring, since you have your skateboard."  
"Come to think of it, no," I corrected. "I was talking to someone."  
"Who?" Alex asked in an extremely curious way. "Who was it? Was it a girl? Tell me! Tell me!"  
"It was a girl," I replied. "The one from biology."  
"The one with the bow?"  
"Yeah. That's the one."  
"Whoa! You lucky dog! She's one of the most prettiest girls in school! Please tell me you got her number or at least a name!"  
"Naros..." I said.  
"What?" Alex asked.  
"She said that her name was Naros."  
"My man!" Alex remarked as we pounced wrists. We then headed into the building, where we were cut off by our dear, but awkward, friend Demy who talked his head off again. Remember when I said that Naros was a pretty name? I change my mind. It's not a pretty name. It's not even a beautiful name. It was the perfect name for a perfect girl.

A girl I might actually start falling for.


	9. The Fountain Story and Al's Project

Chapter IX  
The Fountain Story and Al's Project

Throughout the whole school day, I couldn't keep my eyes off of Naros. She had almost every class, but one, with me and it felt like heaven every time I saw her. Alex and Demy urged me to go over to her table, sit, and have a talk with her, but I refused. It happended on more than one occasion, Naros would be in the hallway or at her locker and Alex would try to get me to talk to her and once again, I would say no. You have to understand, I really wanted to talk to her time and time again, but I wanted to talk to her when no one was around. I wanted to talk to her while the sun rose and the fog cleared away. The breeze of the wind blowing by us as we sat together and smiled at one another. That's what I wanted, but I had to wait until the next morning...

When school was out, Alex, Demy, Isa and I decided to go to town and sit at our favorite spot there; the water fountain. The water fountain wasn't just a regular fountain. It also has a story, like the mansion of the Crying Girl and the trolley. Except this time, it was **us** who made the story of the water fountain become known to town. It's located in the middle of town square. The fountain was huge, and had a small but beautiful stream that went wherever it needed to go. In the middle of the fountain, there was a statue of a young woman. But she wasn't just a regular young woman, she was as beautiful as the sea, which is why I believe the fountain suits her perfectly because she is surrounded by her own beauty, the water. Mother use to tell me stories she 'heard' about the fountain while she was growing up. The story goes like this;

_There once was a woman who lived in a world full of adventure and excitement. Everyone who knew her said she was the most beautiful woman they ever laid eyes on. She never showed off her beauty because she only showed her kindness and caring personality to those who knew her and those who didn't know one piece of information about her. She also was adventurous and daring. Her life caught the attention of a sculptor, a nice young and handsome man who was having a hard time finding inspiration. Once he saw her, he was fascinated in her. She became his inspiration and his obsession. However he was very shy and was scared she might find him a creep if he asked to sculpt her._ _So, he would always watch her whenever she passed by, which was all the time since she loved the water and he lived near the water. Finally, after admiring her from afar, the sculptor summoned enough strength to talk to her. They both fell in love with one another and would always meet by the ocean to spend time together. Romantic, huh?_ _Unfortunately, like a Romeo and Juliet story, their families didn't like each other, in fact, they __**HATED**__ each other! Like Juliet, the woman was to never see the sculptor again and her parents try to marry her off to a famous writer or was it a painter? No matter, the woman didn't want to marry a man of wealth and fame. "What is the point of having wealth, when you do not have love?" she would ask._

_The sculptor, on the other hand, didn't have an arranged marriage, but his parents would always bring him home a young woman. He had feelings for all the women he was ordered to meet, but it wasn't the same. He wanted the adventurous, beautiful, ocean-loving woman he fancied. She was the only one for him. And he was the only one for her._ _Unlike the story (excuse me, the tragedy) of Romeo and Juliet, they didn't even need to devise a plan, instead on the day of the woman's arranged wedding the sculptor and his family (who were desperately and angrily trying to stop him) stormed into the altar and "stole the bride". Both families threatened to cut all ties from them if they were to leave hand in hand. _

_They left hand in hand and with each other. They left their old lives behind and started a new one. And the sculptor made his first and very last statue of his dreams in his new home; his wife surrounded by her beauty, the ocean._

That's how Mother told me the story. Funny how the statue looks just like her...  
**Our **story of the fountain is real simple and not so interesting as Mother's or the town. The fountain isn't old as in hundreds of thousands of years old, it's a couple of decades old but the stream is what interest people the most. "Where does that stream go?" some would ask. "Where does it end?" Alex just blurted out that the stream is connected to another world far more beautiful than ours. Many people demanded that Alex tell them more and he came running to me to help him make up a story. So we told the town that if you put munny or something of value in a small bag or container and place it in the stream, it would sail the item to the world and if the gift was accepted, the world would open its doors onto the donor, giving them the opportunity to explore 'it'. But of course, we didn't even know where the stream ended, we only knew where it began.

The town doesn't know that though and hopefully it'll stay that way. "MAN!" Al cried, "I'm sooooooooooo bored! I wanna do somethin'!" "You can always go home," Isa suggested. "No that won't do!" Alex whined as he threw his arms up into the air. "I wanna do something fun."  
"Whaddya mean?" Demy asked as he strummed a note on his guitar repeatedly. "F-U-N," Alex spelled out. "I wanna do something entertaining! With energy and a sense of adventure!"  
"Like what?" I wanted to know. Alex scratched the back of his head and shrugged. "How 'bout investigate the Mansion of the Crying Girl." he suggested with a grin. Demy stopped strumming and looked at Alex, Isa, and I with a frown. "No way!" he protested as he stood up.  
"Oh, why don't cha stop being a big baby for once?" Alex hissed as he pushed the timid boy.  
"I'm not a baby!" Demy said "I-uh...um...I just don't wanna go."  
"Whimp," Alex said. "Am not," Demy denied.  
"Are to."  
"Am not."  
"Are tooooooooooo!"  
"Ven!"  
"Leave him alone, Al."  
"Fine!" Alex said, "if Mr. Whimpy Mc. Whimp-whimp doesn't wanna come along, who'll replace him?" Isa shrugged, as did I. Alex kicked the ground and shook his head. "Forget it," he said "nevermind my idea of fun."

"Don't give your hopes up yet, Alex." Isa replied, "Mrs. Avery gave us an assignment to do."  
"She always gives us assignments," Alex said.  
"No, not us as in the class." Isa informed, "Us as in you."  
"Me?" Alex reiterated "Whaddid I ever do to her?"  
"What have you _not_ ever done to her?" I asked. "You pull pranks on her, you talk back to her, you get detentions from her, you made a complaint about her-"  
"All right!" Alex shouted "Maybe I'm not her best student b-"  
"Not her best?" I cut him off, "You're her WORSE student ever!"  
"Shut up, Ven," Alex said. "Like I was saying, I'm not her best student, but that doesn't mean she has to punish me for it!"  
"Better you than the whole class for _your _foolishness, Al." Isa remarked. Alex elbowed him in the arm and stood up to stretch. "What's the assignment she gave me?" he asked.

Isa checked his little reminder and typed in "Al's Assignment" since it is a type of voice mail assignment, Isa clicked on "GO", held out the device, and Mrs. Avery's voice was heard between us four. "_Since you think you know everything about history, stories, and documentaries, Alexander," _Mrs. Avery said _"your assignment will be oh so easy for you to do. Your job is to make a documentary of ANYTHING you want and have it in by Friday."  
_"This Friday?" Alex asked us.  
_"Yes, this Friday," _the voice instructor answered. We looked at Alex and he slapped his forehead in disbelief. _"You'll need four people to help you with this assignment, a camera of course,and a journal to take notes, which I will be collecting. Instructions are listed below, other requirements are listed below, they will be your guide. If you're FINALLY capable of following instructions and doing everything I say and ask for then maybe, just MAYBE, you'll get a good grade. I hope you won't let me down this time, Alexander. I hate you, but I have faith in you. Farewell."_

Alex cried out in anger. "Friday!" he shouted. "This week? That's in four days! How in the name of the Pumpkin King am I gonna do and finish a documentary in four days? That's impossible!"  
"Do my ears deceive me?" I grinned. "Must I remind you Al, that you said that nothing was impossible to do."  
"That was years ago!" he whined. "This is Mrs. Avery's assignment! Where am I gonna get a camera? Or a crew? I have to _**write **_for crying out loud! I don't write in her class, I don't even know the meaning of that word in her class! What am I gonna do? And my name's not Alexander!" Alex looked at me, then Isa, then Demy and snapped his fingers. "That's it!" he shouted with joy. "You guys can help me with my project!"  
"Not like we had a choice," murmured Isa. Al jumped up and smiled. "Demy can be the camera guy," he began, "Isa, you can help me write up our process, and Ven can bring the equipment for our documentary." "Can't I help you write your process instead?" I asked. "I don't have any camera equipment." "Whaddaya mean you don't have any camera equipment?" Al slugged me in the arm. "What's all that filming stuff I see lying around in the house everyday, huh?" "Those are Nazareth's," I informed him. "She does go to Film School after work, y'know?" "Why not borrow them from her?" Demy asked. Isa, Al, and I looked at Demy quietly. He has only been at my house once and saw Nazareth briefly. "If only you came by more often to Ven's house," Al said. "She's an evil little chicken. She won't let you hold onto anything of hers even if you were dying." I'm not sure what Demy did since I turned my head momentarily. While I was caught up with small thoughts, I saw Naros walking by. I felt that warm feeling in my heart again. I started playing around with my necklace as I watched her quietly. _She must be heading to the train station... _I thought while quietly playing with my necklace. I really have no idea why this happened, but I started to nibble on one of the pointed tips of my necklace and I don't ever recall a habit of nibbling on something. Perhaps it's something I use to do when I was little...

"Ven!" I heard the booming voice belonging to Al. I whirled around and gave a sigh. "What?" I asked. "Whaddya mean what?" Al demanded. "Did you even hear a word we said?" "...no..." I confessed. "Did _you _even hear a word _I _said, Al?" Isa wanted to know. "We need one more person to do this project." "Whaddya mean one more person?" he asked. "According to the assignment," Isa began "you need four people to do the project with you. That means you need ONE more person to do the project. One, uno, une, ein-" "All right, I get it in all languages it's one!" Al shouted. "Where am I gonna find one more person?" Isa, Demy, and I shrugged. I turned my head again to see Naros paying for something and putting it in her bag with a smile. When she procceeded to leave, she turned and her eyes met mine. I knew it was a brief stare, but it felt like it was longer than that. She raised her hand and waved a little. I waved back, smiling big. "Who're you wavin' at?" Al asked. "Huh?" I said. "I-uh..." Al looked in my direction and grinned. "Oh, I see." he snickered. "Your girlfriend."

"She's not my girlfriend!" I protested. "Are you blushing?" he asked, trying to look at me. "No!" I quickly avoided his stare and blocked my face. "You ARE blushing!" he laughed. "I am not!" I denied. Al made several attempts to see whether I was blushing and failed each time. "I got it!" he snapped his fingers. "I know who can join our group!" "Who?" Demy asked. "Naros," he answered. "What?" I cried shooting my head up from my hands. "You can't!"

"And why not? It's my project, not yours, Ven." "But still! She probably has her own project to do." "What if she doesn't?" "Please, Al. I'm beggin' you!" "Quit being such a girl!" "I'm not acting like a girl!" "Tell ya what, admit you like her and I'll forget about asking her." "I don't like her!" "That's not what I'm seeing." "Looks are deceiving." "Not yours. C'mon, y'know you like her." "I don't!" "Then you won't mind me callin' her over. Hey Na-"

I clapped my hand over Al's mouth and looked over to see Naros arching an eyebrow at us. I gave a nervous smile at her and saw that she was a little amused at the scene. I felt something wet and disgusting on my hand. "Ew!" I yelled, "You licked me!" "Hey Na-" I tackled Al to the ground quickly after cleaning my hand. "Shut it!" I ordered. "Never!" Al declared overpowering me and pinning me to the ground. Meanwhile, Isa and Demy purposely looked the other way to avoid getting involved. Some friends! He took a breath and nearly made another attempt to call Naros. "No!" I whined. "Do I hear defeat?" he asked. "Just admit to liking her and I'll forget about it. I give you my word." "All right!" I said. "Get off of me first!" Al got stood up and helped me to my feet where I admitted defeat. "I like her, okay?" I replied. "I find her very pretty and I like her." I then gave a huge sigh of relief and felt my face getting red of embarrassment. Al patted me on my back as I sat back down and shook my head. I then watched Naros go on her way and somewhat frowned at my behavior in front of her. It was very immature of me, but I'm a guy. It's what I do. But I was still embarrassed. At least I wouldn't have to worry about her joining us for Al's project.

"HEY NAROS!"

I take it back... Naros stopped in her tracks and looked around to see who called her. "Over here!" Al waved. "C'mere a sec!" "Al!" I shouted. "You gave me your word!" "I had my fingers crossed." he grinned. I tried to find a place to hide or to run, but Naros got to the fountain first before I had a chance to do anything. "Yes?" she asked. "Enjoy our performance?" Al said, patting me on the head. In a way I was mortified. But Naros' giggle brightened made me light up inside. "Yes," she answered. "It was very amusing." "Ven, here, wanted to ask ya somethin'." Al lifted me up by my collar, and gave me a slight push. Our eyes met again and that painful but warm feeling came back. This time, I felt myself shaking inside and out. Naros tilted her head and waited patiently for my question. "Al has a project to do and wanted to know if you join our group!" I speed talked and sighed. Naros blinked three time blankly. "...please?" I said in a low but hearable tone. Naros giggled again. "Of course." she answered. I was surprised that she heard one word I said because I was speaking very fast, yet, I was satisfied with her answer and smiled. "Okay!" Al shouted with excitement. "Let's get on with it!"

"You have an idea on what to do already?" Isa asked. "Of course!" he answered. "It's been burning in my brain, desiring attention, wanting to be heard for a long time." "I can only guess," Isa replied. "The Mansion of the Crying Girl!" "I knew it..." Finally, a music note went off. "What?" Demy cried. "You're kiddng!" "No," Al said, "I'm not. Now you can't chicken out on me or you'll chicken out on us. Not to mention-" Al snatched Isa's reminder up and various beeping noises were heard then showed the screen to Demy's face. "-I added you to my project group and sent it to the teacher." Demy frowned. "Awwwwww maaaaaaaaaaaaaannn..." he whined, facepalming himself and falling backwards. "Wha-Ah!" SPLASH! With water pouring on his head, Demy groaned and we laughed. At least his guitar was saved by Isa, who grabbed it as Demy fell. Al hopped up and started marching in place. "Come on!" he urged us. "Let's go!" He began to march his arm stretched out in front of him and announced; "Onward, to the manision!"  
"We need to get the equipment and ideas first," Isa informed Al. Al marched back around and once again made his loud command; "Onward! To my house!" and we followed.


	10. Onward to the Mansion of the Crying Girl

Chapter X  
Onward, to the Mansion of the Crying Girl!

"This is hard!" Al shouted plopping down on his bed and kicking his feet. We had been sitting in his room for only ten minutes and he was already admitting defeat. "We haven't even done anything." Isa said, as he threw a balled up paper at him. "We need a notebook and camera equipment. Do you an empty notebook around here somewhere?" Al sat up and throw the paperball back. "Maybe in the attic somewhere." he answered. He got up and walked over to his bedroom door. "Anyone care to go to the attic with me?" he asked. "It's pretty dark and creepy."  
"You're fifteen years old," Isa said. "Suck it up and hurry up. We need that book." Al looked at me and gave me the sad eyes. "Don't you do it Ven." Isa pointed. I looked at Al again who was pouting. He reminded me of an abandoned puppy that we found when were little. It was a girl puppy and it was sick and dirty. Al's mother felt sorry for her and decided to keep her. They gave her a funny name, at least, I found it pretty funny. It was Dearly Beloved. Dearly Beloved...two seperate words and made into a name for a puppy. Very funny. He never told me why he gave her that name. But he reminded me of her and I couldn't say no. "Ventus!" Isa warned.  
"(Sigh) I'll go." I volunteered.  
"Sucker," I heard Isa mutter. I laughed and met eyes with Naros again. She quickly snatched her head down and I saw something pink in her face. Was she blushing? "C'mon, V!" Al slugged me in the arm and I jumped. Walking into the attic, I looked around and saw alot of small items there. The attic wasn't at all small but it wasn't big either, I'd say it was big enough to fit a bed, dresser, and could be capable of walking around in it without feeling cramped. There were alot of boxes, bags...spiders...dust...webs...this place needs to be cleaned up a bit. Can't wait for Spring Cleaning. "What are we looking for again?" Al asked. "A notebook," I answered. "It's to write your progress and ideas. You're gonna be graded on this, remember?"

"Yeah, yeah," Al flagged me. I blew a web out of my way and sat on one of the chairs. "So, Al," I began, "when do you plan on cleaning up this place?"  
"My family hasn't cleaned this attic in fifteen years," he informed me.  
"Fifteen years?! Al, fifteen years ago you weren't even born."  
"I know." I watched Al struggle with an item. He appeared to be straining on something. It was heavy, real heavy. I knew that because Al had his feet on the wall and was struggling to pull it out. "Do you need any help?" I offered, standing up. "Noooooooo!" he strained out. "I got this-AAAH! I pulled a muscle!" I shook my head and sat back down in the chair. On the table next to me, I noticed a book lying there. It was black and had a drawing on the front. It was a doodle of a stick figure (I believe it was a man) lying in a hospital bed. Next to the bed there was a vase with flowers in it and small kids surrounding the man. A woman was there holding a baby and they all looked sad. There was poor writing on top of it and it was apparent that a child had done it. It had 'Get Well Daddy' and 'Our New Baby Brother Wants to See You'. When I picked up the book, the paper fell off it. I quickly picked it up and shoved it in my pocket. The black book was dusty and, to my surprise when I opened it, empty. I flipped through the book and saw that nothing was written in it. "Hey," I said. "I found a book."  
"AAH!"  
CRASH!  
"...Al?" I stood up and saw Al lying on his back, coughing and groaning. I gave a sigh and shook my head again. "Are you OK, bud?" I asked.  
"Yeah," Al answered dusting himself off. "Never better. Wanna see something cool?"  
"Uh, sure." Al motioned his hand for me to come near him. I climbed over the rubble, nearly tripping on the way and saw a silverish box lying on the floor. "What's that?" I asked.  
"Yooooouuu'llllll seeee!" he sang as he quietly sat in front of the box and began to unlock it. "Come over here and see this!" he urged me. I walked over and sat down, leaning in to see Al open the box. When the lid was lifted, my eyes widened. "Whoa!" I half whispered, half exclaimed. There, in the box, was a pair of chakrams. They were neatly placed next to one another. They were dusty, but magnificent. "Where'd you get these?" I wanted to know.  
"Before my mom became a cook, she use to play with chakrams. My dad gave these to her as their wedding gift years ago. He said that he had no use for them." I laughed and nudged him. "Maybe you should ask to have these for your birthday." I joked.

Al agreed and stared at them for a while. "Say, Al." I said. "As much as you wanna stare at them all day...you got a project to do."  
"Oh yeah!" his response was. He stood up, closed the box, and hid it underneath the rubble he created. We then walked downstairs back to his room. "Found the book," Al announced.  
"What was all that noise up there?" Isa asked. "It sounded like something fell."  
"Or someone," I inferred, getting punched in the stomach. Sitting down, we all began to put our ideas together. "We should have music!" Demy exclaimed. "And special effects! Ooh, ooh, ooh! Lights and end credits!"  
"We'll need questions to ask," Isa said, messing with his pen. "And we'll need to find people to interview."  
"Oh that'll be easy!" Al said. "I'm good with people."  
"We know you are," I replied. Once again, I was elbowed in my stomach.

After practicing what we were going to do, we were ready to put the documentary in action.  
There was just one problem; we didn't have a camera. And the only person I knew who had a professional like camera was my sister, Nazareth. And we all knew, well most of us, that Nazareth was a selfish and evil person. She wouldn't even give a penny to a guy who needs it. It was just my luck that my sister was the only one in this town to own a professional camera the teacher recommended. When I got home, I immediately walked into Nazareth's room and asked to borrow her equipment. Well...I didn't ask her nicely. It went more like this; "Nazareth, I need to borrow your camera equipment." She ignored me the first time and continued her conversation on her cellphone. "Nazareth." I said somewhat gesturing my hands. "I need to borrow you camera equipment."  
"Hold on a sec," she said to her friend. She placed her phone downward toward the pillow and gave me a look. Not sure what it was though. "Hmm..." she began. "I could've sworn I said to knock before entering my room. I do recall telling you this long ago."  
"Never said it to me," I replied as I walked in front of her bedpost. "Did you hear me when I came in?"  
"Yeah I heard ya," she said. "The answer's no."

"Whaddya mean the answer's no?" I asked even though I knew the answer. "You're on vacation and haven't touched it for days. You might as well lemme borrow it so I can help Al finish his project." Nazareth gave me another mysterious look and tilted her head. "Mmmmmmmmmmmmm..." she hummed. "No. Especially since it's Alex you're helping."  
"He really needs to do this project. If he doesn't, he's gonna fail."  
"His problem, not mine." was all she said and continued her conversation with her friend. I didn't budge. My presence annoyed her and in a way, I felt I was achieving something by standing still in her room. "Did you hear me?" she asked sternly placing the phone down. "I'm not giving you my camera so beat it!" "Yeah," I said. "I heard ya. The answer's no."  
"I see where this is going." she smirked. "You're mocking me and trying to be cute about it." She picked up her phone and told her friend to hold the call, she placed it down and stood up. "I'm giving you until the count of five to get out of my room or there will be fatal consequences." I mocked her by crossing my arms and grinning. "One." I continued to mock her. "Two." I wasn't going to leave without the camera equipment. "Three." I knew there was one way to get her to say yes. "Four!" That was blackmail. "Fi-"  
"I have a video of your party when Mom and Dad were away on a trip." I finally spoke. Nazareth's face turned from anger and annoyance to disbelief and doubt. "You don't." she said.  
"Oh but I do," I grinned, "and unless you want your dirty little secret to be exposed, you let me borrow your camera equipment and we call it a day."

Nazareth crossed her arms and shook her head.  
"You're lying." she declared. "There's no way you could've recorded that party. Besides, I locked you in your room until the party was over. You have no evidence." I arched an eyebrow and sighed. I watched her give a victory grin and sat back on her bed picking up her phone. I left her room and came back with a disc. I felt her eyes follow me as I turned on her tv and placed the disc in a player. The tv made a few noises before a recording of Nazareth and her friends partying popped up. When the music and the students started playing, Nazareth's phone clattered to the floor and I turned to see the face of shock and fear. "How did you-"  
"I turned your camera on before you sent upstairs," I answered. "You wanna know the best thing about having a technology hound for a friend?" Nazareth's eyes widened. She knew exactly what I was going to say. "You wouldn't dare..." she said in a dark frightful tone.  
"**_Try me_**." I urged. "Now give me the equipment or the internet _**and**_ our parents will love to see this."

"No, never. You and your friends will ruin it!" she said, still trying to have some control over the situation, but it was clear that I won. I'm not sure whether I shook my head in pity for her or I grinned evilly. Either way, it didn't matter because all I had to do was shout out a simple sentence. "Mom! There's something up here you'd like to see."  
"Coming!" we both heard our mother sing. She was in the kitchen downstairs and we heard her somewhat speed walking. With the video still playing and Mother closing in on Nazareth's room, my sis started to panic and all of her power and control went down the drain. "OK!" she faltered. "You win! You win! Now turn it off!"

"Hug me." I told her.  
"What?"  
"Just do it!" I rushed over to her and wrapped my arm around her and she did the same. I forgot to turn the tv off when I was close to it so I grabbed the remote and in the nick of time turned it off seconds before Mother walked in. She stood there in amazement seeing that Nazareth and I were hugging, something we haven't done since I was at least nine. "Aww!" she cried, placing her hands over her mouth. "You two are friends again."  
"Yeah," Nazareth smiled. "We sure are."  
"I need to take a picture of this." Mother pulled out her phone and snapped a pic of Nazareth and me hugging. When she left, I felt a huge fist slam up against my side. "You little witch doctor!" Nazareth snapped.  
"Relax," I coughed out. "I didn't enjoy it anymore than you did. We had a deal, now cough it up." Nazareth looked as though she was on the verge of changing her mind, which in all cases, she always do. Instead of saying no and calling her friend, she walked over to her closet and handed me the equipment. "I swear Ven if you break any of these," she threatened, "that bruised rib will become a broken one. You understand?"  
"Got it!" I happily shouted and ran out the room with my reward in hand.

* * *

I returned to Al's home and saw that they were sitting on the steps waiting for me. "Hey," Demy pointed. "Ven's back."  
"You're alive!" Al shouted. "We thought that you went into the Lion's Den and would never return."  
"You were the one who was thinking that, Al." Isa muttered. He then directed his attention towards the equipment and me. "You know how to work a camera?" he asked. I nodded. "Demy and I can switch here and there," I replied.  
Demy looked at the bag and pulled the camera out of it. "I like this," he said. "When do we begin filming?"  
"After we review the script one more time." Isa answered. "Then we'll be ready." We all reviewed the script again and we were ready to begin the documentary. I held the camera in my hands and once the red light turned green I gave Al his cue to go. "Hello there civilians and my loving but hateful teacher," Al began, "It is I, Alexander the Great Narrator!"  
"Cut!" I heard Isa say. "Alex, you can't brag like that on your documentary. The teacher hates braggers."  
"Oh yeah," Al said. "That's right. Thanks Isa. Okay, TAKE TWO!" I held the camera up again and when the light turned green, Al knew it was his cue. "Hello my fellow classmates," Al said in a boastful like tone "you all already know my name but for those of you who don't recognize this sexy-I mean-me, my name's Alex and I am in room 362." I gave Al the thumbs up and motioned for him to continue. "For my project," he continued, "my group and I decided to investigate the Mansion of the Crying Girl. We all know the story about her, however, if you're like my pal here Demy-" I turned the camera towards Demy who was obliviously playing with his guitar, then turned back to Al. "-you may not know the story of the haunted mansion. There are alot of stories that's been told throughout the years but which story is the truth?" Al pondered in his head quietly and snapped his fingers. "How 'bout we go ask the town?"

"And cut!" Isa said. He nonchalantly clapped his hands. "Very good, Al. That was very good. But you forgot one thing."  
"Really?" Al said. "And what's that?" Isa pointed with his pencil to Naros, Demy, me, and himself. "You didn't introduce us."  
"Ahn no biggie, Isa," Al somewhat flagged him, "I'll introduce you guys when we get to the town square."  
"That won't make any sense," Demy replied. "We should probably start with introducing all of us, then we can talk about the mansion...or something like that." We looked at Demy quietly and nodded in agreement. "That's a great idea," Al said, "how come I never thought of that?"  
"Because you rarely think." Isa remarked, which earned him a glare by Al. After two more takes on the intro of the documentary, we finally managed to do it correctly and now we were ready to interview some people in town. Of course we had to get their consent, which was the most easiest thing that could be done since everyone in town knew us and loved us.

The first place we went to was Henley's Treat Sweet. Awkward name but Mr. Henley was an awkward man.  
Mr. Henley was an old man whose store has been opened for only a few months. He used to own an antique store that, unfortunately, burned down last year. It was devastating considering the fact that the antique store had been in our town for centuries. Literally. Mr. Henley was heartbroken but eventually he got over it and created a new store in which people would ask; "Why is it Treat Sweet and not Sweet Treat?" and the answer is always the same, "He's Mr. Henley." It was apparent that Mr. Henley knew that we were coming, for the store said closed but we could see five chairs out near the counter and Mr. Henley invited us in. Demy opened the door to the store and happily announced his presence as well as ours. "We're here!" he shouted.  
"Hello, Demy!" Mr. Henley greeted. "Come now, have a seat. You all must be thirsty or hungry."  
"Both!" Al replied hopping down in a chair beside Isa. I pulled the seat beside me out for Naros to sit in, which she did. "Good day Isa," Mr. Henley said. "Howdy Alexander, and afternoon Ventus. And who might you be dear? I've never seen a face like yours around here before."  
"A pleasure to meet you Mr. Henley," Naros smiled. "I'm Naros."  
"Ven's girlfriend." Al teased.  
"She's not my girlfriend!" I protested.  
"But she will beeeeeeeee," Mr. Henley sanged.  
"Mr. Henley! You too?"  
"Ventus my boy," Mr. Henley laughed. "I may be an old man, but I know how boys act when they like a girl. Believe me, 45 years of marriage and she still makes me feel young inside." We all laughed at that. We would have stayed longer and chat a bit more, but because of Al's big mouth, we had a project to do. So it was time to get to work. "Mr. Henley," I began. "We're doing a documentary and we would like to know if you wouldn't mind being in the film."  
"Of course I don't mind, Ventus." Mr. Henley said. "What's the documentary about anyway?"

"The Mansion of the Crying Girl." Al answered. Mr. Henley looked at the five of us as if we were crazy.  
"What're y'all?" he asked. "Paranormal investigators?"  
"Just friends tryna help an idiotic big mouth." Isa nonchalantly replied, his head resting on his hand. "Oh I can tell you alot about that house." Mr. Henley said. "It's full of tragedy and sadness." I turned on the camera and aimed it at Mr. Henley, he's not one to repeat himself on this matter. "Years ago," he began. "There was a family that lived in that mansion. They had two children, a maid and a butler."  
"oooooh nooo." Demy moaned and slammed his head down on the counter. "C'mon Demy!" Al replied, "That story I told ya was only a joke."  
"Quiet!" Isa hissed. "Continue Mr. Henley."  
"I've seen the children myself," Mr. Henley started again. "A young boy and a little girl. From what I remember, she had beautiful long blonde hair and wore a white dress and carried around a tiny sketchbook. Her brother was different. He was a brunette-"  
"With sharp blue eyes...?" Naros asked.  
"Why yes dear," said Mr. Henley. "You've heard this story before?" Naros shook her head. "A friend of mine told me that boys with brown hair are known to have sharp blue eyes." she replied. "I'm sorry...it was just a thought that ran through my head."  
"No problem dear." Mr. Henley continued his story of the Crying Girl and when he finished he gave a big hardy laugh and shook his head. "It's only a story," said the old man. "I doubt there is someone in there really crying. If so, then a tragedy it must be. Poor child."

"Thank you for your time, Mr. Henley." Al said.  
"No no no, thank you!" Mr. Henley replied. "Come back anytime. I'm always opened!"

* * *

Once we all came to an agreement that interviewing half the town was enough, we finally chose to go to the mansion.  
"Onward," Al proudly raised his fist and marched. "To the Mansion of the Crying Girl!"  
"Are you sure you wanna do this...?" asked Demy. "We could lie and say that it's off limits..."  
"Don't be ridiculous, Demy." Al said. "We made it this far, we can't back out now. Besides, I only have until Friday to put this whole documentary in tack." Demy gulped and looked at the arch we were to pass into the forest. "It's settled." he laughed. "Now, onward! To the Mansion of the Crying Girl...again!"


End file.
